Mining and Power Magazine

This was the beta site for the new Mining and Power Magazine.
The content below is fron 2014-2015 articles.
To find all of your industry-related resources in the current mining industry, go to www.miningmagazine.com/, www.powermag.com/, or https://issuu.com/worldminingmagazine/docs/wm_12_goldcorp__web_

About Mining and Power Magazine

The landscape of the mining and power industries is constantly being altered. With an abundance of resources and revolutionary changes, how is your company evolving in this progressive market? It is important to know what can be achieved and the most efficient ways to accomplish your goals.

Power provides the economy with billions of dollars each year. With the nation’s use of advanced technologies there have been remarkable breakthroughs in energy. Responding to challenges with innovative strategies while improving on productivity and sustainability will move your company forward.

Mining companies have also faced their challenges, but today they are taking active steps to respond. The need for mineral resources is driven by the emerging markets, and these commodities are in high demand. The industry has a renewed focus on finding inventive ways to protect the environment and improve safety. Understanding the diversity of this business and knowing how to assess your options will help expand your projects.

In such an immense field all aspects are critical. A skilled workforce, having reliable equipment, maintaining customer relationships, and sound management are key principals to ensuring your company’s success. It is also imperative you know the functions of refiners, transporters, distributors and utilities. These are all essential to developing your operation.

Understanding what makes a complex and rapidly growing market such as this thrive, is vital. Your company needs to be able to progress with it. Mining and Power Magazine will keep you in the know about key solutions along with providing you information on products and services to keep you at the forefront. This magazine will reveal strategies from your top competitors, as well as show you the broad range of protective measures they are taking. Mining and Power is the source you need to help your operation succeed.

FEATURE ARTICLES FROM 2015

OPM Metals

Written by Brian Salgado

AS OPM METALS turns 40 this year, the company positions itself for international expansion via a number of strategic moves.

As OPM Metals celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, it continues to take major steps toward becoming an international player in the precious metals refining industry. Along with “good delivery” certifications from two of the top international trade associations for gold and silver refiners, a rebranding effort and a timely transaction, OPM Metals relies on its tried and true values of transparency, consistency and speed to build upon its decades of success.

“At OPM, we pride ourselves on these aspects of our business,” says Conor Dullaghan, who was named president of OPM Metals at the start of this year after becoming the company’s vice president in 2011.

L.A. Perks Petroleum Inc.

Written by Brian Salgado

L.A. Perks Petroleum Inc. penetrates the mining industry of Northern Nevada to diversify its capabilities after the downturn of the economy.

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As the recession took its toll on the energy industry throughout the United States in the latter part of the last decade, countless companies took surviving as a victory. Not many can claim that the challenge of staying afloat spurned a new, prosperous division within a niche market

L.A. Perks Petroleum Specialists Inc. made that a reality, however. Instead of cutting costs to compete with less-qualified contractors making impossible promises to clients to land contracts for unrealistic prices in the Reno, Nev., region, Kylen Perks led his family-owned business to northern Nevada and the mining industry based there.

Mincon Group

Written by Andrew Santa Lucia

With 10 companies globally located, Mincon Group is taking strides to become the choice of drillers worldwide.

Mincon Group PLC was founded in 1977 by Paddy and Mary Purcell to produce state-of-the-art engineered rock drills and associated parts. The company, however, has had “a clear vision and determined focus giving priority towards manufacturing top quality tools that bring added value to the end user,” Executive Director Tom Purcell says. Those same values hold true today and have allowed the company to evolve and grow healthily from its “home base in Shannon, Ireland, into a multinational company working in markets all around the world.”

The Mincon Group is comprised of 10 companies in strategic locations around the world including Ireland, Australia, United States, Sweden, South Africa, Poland and Peru. By locating operations worldwide, Mincon achieves a global outlook on its business and how it works with its clients. Being on the ground also helps Mincon work closely with clients to direct them toward the best products for their needs.

N.A. Degerstrom Inc.

Written by Brian Salgado

N.A. Degerstrom Inc. has helped mine owners achieve their goals for 110 years through mine management.

As safety and environmental regulations continue to be piled onto the mining industry, operating a safe and sustainable mine site grows more difficult with each passing year. That’s why N.A. Degerstrom (NAD) Inc. shares its clients challenges to passionately deliver solutions.

“We firmly believe in working with – rather than for – our clients,” says Scott Upton, business development manager for NAD. “The demand for mine management is greater now than it has ever been. We understand, and this is what sets us apart from the rest.”

NAD is more than just a mining contractor. The company has built hundreds of miles of highways throughout the Northwest; constructed bridges and railroads, including work for the SP&S and Great Northern Railway (now Burlington Northern); and worked on hydroelectric dams, including Rock Island and Wanapum on the Columbia River, and Dworshak on the Clearwater River.

Their work is impressive.

Karnalyte Resources Inc.

Written by Rodric J. Hurdle-Bradford

Karnalyte Resources Inc. looks to the future with plans for a new solution mining facility focused on potash.

Successful leadership begins at the top, no matter what the industry, and Saskatchewan-based Karnalyte Resources Inc. is proving this true as its experienced senior executive management team oversees its vision to become a leading low-cost producer of high quality, low sodium potash for agricultural and industrial markets.

“Our vision includes our intention to construct and operate a solution mining facility capable of producing 2.125 million tons of potash per year,” says Robin Phinney, president, CEO and director.

Karnalyte Resources’ production plan calls for a staged approach to plant construction where the first phase of the project will result in production of 625,000 tons of potash per year that eventually will increase to 2.125 million tons per year. Karnalyte owns 100 percent interest in subsurface permit KP360A and subsurface mineral lease KLSA-010 located near Wynyard, Saskatchewan, comprising a total of 85,126 acres.

FEATURE ARTICLES FROM 2014

Kenneth Klemm Q&A with Mining & Power Magazine

Kenneth Klemm talks with Mining & Power Magazine about his role as co-chair of Baker Donelson's Oil & Gas Industry Service Team and how he helps energy companies with their legal challenges as well as how to avoid litigation.

"The most effective means of trying to protect against litigation involves being proactive and cognizant of the current legal environment in all aspects of a company's operations. From addressing a landowner's concerns before a situation escalates to the level of the landowner hiring counsel to preserving evidence from field incidents through a proper investigation, companies may be able to either prevent litigation or, at a minimum, collect the information and data necessary to defend against a later claim. The public, in general, seems more inclined to bring lawsuits than ever before. But, in some instances, an individual simply may be looking for an explanation or quick resolution of what it perceives to be a wrong such as an improper royalty payment or damage to property. Early intervention by a client's legal team or outside counsel may be able to resolve such issues prior to a lawsuit being filed. On the other hand, the preservation of evidence and an investigation coordinated by in-house or outside counsel also can lead to better results when a casualty or other incident occurs that most likely will give rise to litigation. The key seems to be a client proactively addressing issues before litigation occurs or possessing the information necessary to defend claims made against that client."

Executive Leadership for Compliance to Commitment

There is no question that compliance with health and safety regulations is a critical component of successful operations in any industry. Nevertheless, because these regulations are externally imposed, there is a tendency for health and safety to be viewed as an ancillary function to the primary activities of any organization. This externally focused approach to health and safety has the potential to adopt a “compliance mindset.” This attitude becomes an avoidance approach to negative external consequences, instead of a positive and progressive methodology to prevent risks.

An alternative to the compliance mindset is the “commitment mindset,” which is an internal, integrated and holistic approach to process improvement. This commitment mindset requires serious and sustained engagement and leadership, starting with the organization’s executive team. The executive leadership creates the atmosphere that empowers the entire organization to be involved in the continual improvement of health and safety practices and gives all employees permission to challenge the status quo. Another way to compare the two philosophies is:

Conforming people try to follow the rules; committed people try to do the right thing.

Why strive for a commitment mindset? The overarching tenet of this philosophy is that the behaviors that occur at a worksite are supported by the culture and systems of the organization and those closest to the risk are in the best position to identify at-risk behaviors and develop strategies to reduce that risk.

The four components of a commitment mindset

At its most elemental level, attaining success when it comes to creating a commitment mindset requires four components:

LeadershipLeaders create the atmosphere that drives and supports the culture, beginning with the Board and Executive Leadership.

Engagement-Engagement at all levels of the organization is crucial, because it strengthens commitment, which results in increased ownership.

Sustainable solutionsMaking sure all solutions can be sustained in the organization to support health and safety requires more than developing policies and providing training. It entails a close look at people, plant and processes to carefully design solutions in non-safety areas that promote lasting change.

Systems focusThe workforce can only perform as well as the systems they work within. It is important to avoid blaming employees for an incident and instead work to understand what was driving the actions or why the risk exposure was not recognized.

Moving from a compliance mindset to a commitment mindset requires the organization to address a number of important tasks. It starts with integrating safety processes into all functions across the organization, including Operations, Human Resources, Communications, Internal Audit and Finance. With each of these functions, it is important to include safety accountability into performance management, site ratings and job evaluations. This is accomplished by setting specific and measurable goals beyond the traditional lagging safety measures, ensuring engagement at the front line and following through with coaching, feedback and clear communication.

Leaders are responsible for creating the right atmosphere

Adopting a commitment mindset is challenging; the challenge is that the organization’s leadership must create an atmosphere that empowers and supports employees to become engaged leaders in risk identification and mitigation. To accomplish that, it is important to examine a number of systemic organizational issues, including:

How consistent are supervisors’ decision-making processes?

Do supervisors have employees’ best interests at heart?

Do employees receive the support needed to accomplish organizational goals?

Is collaboration an effective way to get tasks accomplished?

Do team members treat each other with respect?

Do employees perceive that the company values safety performance?

Does safety communication flow freely throughout the organization?

Do employees feel free to communicate about problems and issues, especially safety?

Realizing the benefits of employee engagement

Leveraging the power of employee engagement can transform the entire organization so that it takes a proactive approach in identifying and mitigating risk. The resulting culture will deliver many ancillary benefits that include empowering team members to identify risks, strengthening leadership and accountability and collecting data for analysis to prescribe solutions. A proactive approach has the capability to remove barriers to continual improvement and drive improvement in non-safety business areas

The safety professional’s role

The role of the “safety professional” should be to become change agents and problem solvers of the continual improvement approach within the safety philosophy. Safety professionals are in the position to lead efforts for management system implementation and should be encouraged and given the ability to solve problems. They should also receive ongoing professional development in order to continue increasing their skill levels at driving continual improvement in all business areas, not just safety.

Safety professionals are the champions or facilitators for safety processes, but not solely responsible for safety. A delicate balance must occur in adopting a commitment mindset—every functional department must be a business partner with safety. Operations must own their safety programs, not simply comply with regulations. Education and collaboration are essential elements in the process, and evaluating with assessments promotes best practices and continual improvement.

Commitment is the driver

Attaining the goal of continual improvement in health and safety behaviors requires more than a compliance mindset. It moves beyond what is deemed compulsory to behaviors that are truly part of the fabric of the organization’s cultural identity. For that to happen, the organization must take steps from the top-down and the bottom-up to embody a continuous improvement approach to attain a commitment mindset in all business functions, not just health and safety.

When I was in Texas I worked for a janitorial cleaning firm that did pre set up and post clean up of conference, as well as clean the corporate offices for some of the major players in the mining and power industry. During the post cleaning of a conference for the mining and power industry, I picked up some of the flyers and other conference papers to peruse later during a break. I have friends who work in that industry and it seems both complex and rather dangerous for those out in the field doing the dirty heavy labor. Health and safety seemed to be two of the issues that were being addressed at the conference. I could identify with that. Even in the seemingly tamer janitorial services market place, risk identification and mitigation are important to the managers and the empoloyees. Accidents occur. I now work for one of the better established commercial janitorial service companies on the east coast. I know that they place safety high on their list of concerns. Recently they have moved into using eco friendly cleansing products. Many of their customers in demand it.